Man to be sentenced to life in prison for fatal stabbing of 4-year-old boy in McCully

Waiser Walter, the 29-year-old Honolulu man who attacked a child and his aunt in their McCully apartment in 2016, will be sentenced to life in prison for the stabbing death of the four-year-old boy.

On Oct. 10, 2016, police found Jeremiah Roke with multiple stab wounds to the chest. Advanced life support was administered before Emergency Medical Services transported him to the hospital where he died.

Roke’s aunt suffered multiple stab wounds to the back. She was transported to the hospital in critical condition.

Walter, described as a hanai relative, lived with Roke, Roke’s aunt and other relatives at a Lime Street apartment. He originally pleaded not guilty at Circuit Court.

But in an agreement with the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, he pleaded guilty this week to murder in the second degree and attempted murder in the second degree. He would be facing a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

The prosecution and the defense have agreed to recommend that Walter serve at least 35 years in prison before the Hawaii Paroling Authority considers parole.

“This was a completely unprovoked attack by a man the victims considered family,” Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Bell said in a news release. “The defendant intended to raise an insanity defense but psychiatrists who examined him refuted this defense.”

The plea agreement “reflects the serious nature of the crime and protects the public from a dangerous man,” Acting Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Nadamoto said.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 13.